Raleigh NC CPA
W. Marc Gilfillan, CPA, NC, individual and business CPA and Tax expert, shares about the history of taxes…
Ah…. now we have a historical event obviously about abusive taxation. Was the Boston Tea Party a protest concerning the British taxation on tea, as we were told? No, not at all. The colonies had already been boycotting English tea for five years before to the Boston Tea Party! They had actually smuggled in Dutch tea and were quite prosperous. There was tea for anyone who wanted it and no British …

Raleigh NC Tax Preparation
W. Marc Gilfillan, CPA, NC, individual and business CPA and Tax expert, shares about the history of taxes…
“Slavery – the one cause of the Civil War.” – John Stuart Mill, 1862
Can there be any doubtful thoughts concerning this topic? Certainly the American Civil War was about the slavery issue… wasn’t it? Well actually, one of the greatest popular myths in our history is that the Civil War was started over slavery and that Lincoln, the Great Emancipator, started a bloody war to sever the claims of bondage …

Raleigh NC CPA
W. Marc Gilfillan, CPA, NC, individual and business CPA and Tax expert, shares about the history of taxes…
“Slavery – the one cause of the Civil War.” – John Stuart Mill, 1862
Could there be a doubtful thoughts about this topic? Of course the American Civil War was about slavery… was it not? Well actually, one of the most popular myths in our history is that the Civil War was started over the slavery issue and that Lincoln, the Great Emancipator, used a terrible war to break the chains of …

Raleigh NC Accountant
W. Marc Gilfillan, CPA, NC, individual and business CPA and Tax expert, shares about the history of taxes…
There has been no other revolution that was more solidly rooted in tax problems. Taxation didn’t just cause it, but helped unify the unorganized and squabbling colonies. However, maybe not precisely the way you might imagine. If you’re feeling the pressure with today’s taxes, call a CPA for Tax Preparation in Raleigh, NC for all your tax-related needs!
First, the British taxes on the colonies were neither unfair nor oppressive. Actually, Americans …

Raleigh NC Tax Preparation
W. Marc Gilfillan, CPA, NC, individual and business CPA and Tax expert, shares about the history of taxes…
Ah…. now we have a historical event clearly about oppressive taxation. Was the Boston Tea Party a protest against the British taxation on tea, as we were all taught? No, not one bit. The colonies had continuously been boycotting English tea for 5 years before to the Boston Tea Party! They had instead smuggled in Dutch tea and were quite prosperous. There was tea for all and no British tea …

W. Marc Gilfillan, CPA, NC, individual and business CPA and Tax expert, shares about the history of taxes…
Mithridates the Great ruled a tiny nation near what is currently known as Turkey. He had an extraordinary power to arouse rebellion among unhappy taxpayers. In 88 BC he organized a civil war fighting Roman rule. By granting 5 years of tax immunity to each city that followed his rebellion, he gathered substantial support.
The Roman Senate sprang into action and told General Sulla to muster an army and restore Roman authority in the …

W. Marc Gilfillan, CPA, NC, individual and business CPA and Tax expert, shares about the history of taxes…
The island of Rhodes: a linking to Rome and Greece. Any shipping from the east halted for supplies or to change cargo at Rhodes. The harbor at the city, similar to every other harbor, had a tax on everything – 2%. Rhodes was prosperous and was fabulously wealthy in the banking and commerce industries specifically. The wealthy men erected a hundred-foot-tall bronze colossus of Apollo near the entrance to the harbor. It named …

W. Marc Gilfillan, CPA, NC, individual and business CPA and Tax expert, shares about the history of taxes…
The Rosetta Stone, discovered by Napoleon, was perhaps the most helpful Egyptian archaeological find to date. The Stone had duplicated text in 3 different languages: hieroglyphics, demotic (also called Egyptian script) and Greek. Using the Greek version, archaeologists could decipher the Egyptian script and subsequently the pictographs. However, the query is sustained: Egyptians had paper, called papyrus, so why was the writing carved into stone? Also, why three languages? And why Greek?
The Stone …

W. Marc Gilfillan, CPA, NC, individual and business CPA and Tax expert, shares about the history of taxes…
Ancient Egypt was not a land of terrible oppressors and oppressed slaves – that’s simply the impression we get from the story of Exodus, which came at a time of chaos in Egypt. Modern translations of hieroglyphics tell a tale of life in ancient Egypt was usually bountiful and relatively at peace. The land was rich, men and women were equal and life was good for most. But, there were tax collectors, as …